The Tail
by zoebrenn
Summary: Callen goes the extra mile to ensure the safety of one of his team.
1. Chapter 1

**Had this in my head so hammered it out in the shortest time ever! Enjoy, even though it's short. Zoe**

It started after Deeks was shot. The incident had forced Callen to think about the safety of his team. Deeks was new, he was LAPD and wasn't trained in the same security measures NCIS were. That's why it had happened. Deeks had inadvertently made himself an easy target.

Callen didn't have to worry about Hetty, she had more experience under her belt than anyone and he knew for a fact she not only took different routes to and from work, she had multiple residences so she was never in the same place two nights in a row. He didn't worry about Sam either. He was the master of personal security and had already made clear his intentions to give Deeks a crash course in staying safe as soon as he was well enough to leave the hospital. The very fact that Deeks had been targeted in order to get to Kensi meant Callen didn't have to worry about her. If anything, she would only beef up her security protocols in light of the knowledge that someone had been trying to get to her. And Eric, Eric may not be an agent but he had been right there with them when Dom was taken and when his life was so cruelly snatched away months later. Eric was all too aware of the consequences of falling into habits.

But there was one member of the team Callen was worried about; their newest and youngest member, Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones. His worry stemmed from his lack of knowledge. He didn't even know she was weapons trained until the day she came into the field when his 'ex' was holding hostages. He had been as surprised as the others when she checked out the gun and slipped it into the back of her pants like a pro. So he had made the assumption that in being trained to do her job and in handling weapons, knowing about security protocols was a given. But in light of what happened to Deeks, Callen knew he could no longer assume Nell knew what she should be doing.

And that was why it started. For a full week he tailed her to and from work, making sure she used a different route to work each day, that if she stopped for coffee she used a different place each time. Parking up the street from her apartment, he would wait until she had passed by then he would stay a safe distance behind her all the way to the office. At night he would wait until she had pulled out of the parking garage then once she made it home, he would park down the street until he saw the lights go on in her apartment before finally going home.

When the week was out, Callen was satisfied that Nell was doing everything she needed to. But every month or so he would tail her for a few days just to check. She had become an important part of the team and he needed to be sure she was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two of this little ditty. Enjoy. Zoe**

It was midway through the week when Nell first spotted she was being tailed. She was driving home and in checking the cars behind her like she always did, she noticed a vehicle two cars behind her that had been in the same position that morning on her way to work. She couldn't see the driver but she recognised the dent in the front bumper. It had happened two days earlier when Callen and Sam were chasing down a suspect and had Sam had used their front bumper to spin the suspect's car and bring him to a halt. That night she had watched Sam leave a full thirty minutes before she did and knew it wasn't him behind the wheel. That could only mean that it was Special Agent G Callen tailing her. It didn't take long for her to work out why. They had all got a scare when Marty had been shot and Sam had been talking about personal security all week. She could only assume that Callen didn't think she was taking the correct precautions and had decided to follow her to find out. She wondered how many times he had tailed her and she hadn't spotted him.

At first she was a little annoyed that he didn't trust her to watch her own back and she had almost called him on it before realising he was doing it her because he wanted her to be safe. And after seeing him tailing her in various cars over the next two days, she found she was actually comforted by the fact that in doing so, Callen felt she was worth protecting.

As she arrived home on the Friday night, she headed up to her apartment as normal but instead of putting her lights on straight away, she moved over to the window and found Callen's car parked down the street. She turned on the small lamp by the table at her side then watched as Callen's car began to pull away. A small smile crossed her lips when she realised he was even waiting to make sure she got inside her apartment before leaving.

The following week she looked out for him but he was nowhere to be seen. Nell realised she had obviously satisfied whatever need he had to make sure she stayed safe, until a month later when it all started again.


End file.
